By Jacquelyn Guillen
jiguillenblog.wordpress.com
For the last couple of weeks, I’ve logged onto Facebook and Instagram, and found my friends attempting a new challenge. It wasn’t something ridiculous like the “Cinnamon Challenge” or the “Selfie Olympics” or anything that could possibly harm a human in any way. Instead, I discovered a challenge called the 100 Happy Days Challenge (#100HappyDays).
The point of the challenge, according to the 100happydays.com website, is to simply promote happiness. They want people to take just a minute or second or any small amount of time out of their day to just reflect on the simple things in their day-to-day life that make them happy. The challenger first signs up on their website and then chooses how they will share their 100 Happy Day pictures. They can post a picture on any form of social media, (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc.) with the hashtag #100HappyDays.
One thing I admire about the website is that it says this challenge is not a competition. The point is not to make people feel bad about their lives, and the point is not to boast about how awesome you think your life is. People need to just take a minute to reflect on something they appreciate. Today, many people live in a society where they work a lot and tend to ignore the little things. With social media, work, family, and friends in our lives, it can be extremely hard to balance some things.
The week before International Days, for example, I felt extremely stressed out. I was worried about my dancers and our dance. In addition, I had to get our costumes in order, clean up the dance, order food, etc. Rarely, did I have the chance to just take a couple of deep breaths and reflect on something I appreciate. I’ve wanted to attempt this #100HappyDays Challenge, but I always find myself making the same excuse: I don’t have time.
Of course, on the 100 Happy Days website, they have a statistic that says 71 percent of people that fail this challenge do so because of a lack of time. I don’t want to be a part of that statistic though. It’s sad to think that other people and I don’t have just one minute to take a picture of something we like and appreciate. Everyone should be able to take some amount of time out of their busy schedules to just be happy.
That’s why I decided to start my #100HappyDays, and hopefully I can stick with it.
